Junior outfielder Bailey Wigness bunts a ball during the Sun Devils' 3-0 win over Bradley on Feb. 10. Wigness will fill in for junior outfielder Alix Johnson, who has been suspended indefinitely for undisclosed reasons in ASU's home series against Washington this weekend. (Photo by Sam Rosenbaum)With junior All-American outfielder Alix Johnson suspended for an undisclosed violation of team rules, junior outfielder Bailey Wigness has taken her spot in the order as the No. 2 ASU softball team takes on Washington for a three-game weekend series.
Wigness was hitting ninth nearly all season until Johnson was suspended and has since moved into the leadoff spot.
“Whether (I'm) hitting leadoff or I’m hitting ninth, my job is still the same to get on base and set the table,” she said. “Really the only difference is one extra at-bat at the beginning of the game.”
Any player would like an extra at-bat, but a key role of the leadoff hitter is to see a lot of pitches and report back to the team on what she saw.
“This series at Stanford hitting first, getting that extra at-bat allowed me to get a better rhythm off the pitcher,” Wigness said. “Instead of just two at-bats (I was) getting three or four. That was nice being able to see more pitches.”
Wigness, sporting a team-leading .424 batting average, provides speed at the top of the lineup that the ASU (36-4, 7-2 Pac-12) will miss with Johnson out an undisclosed amount of time.
In the outfield, sophomore Elizabeth Caporuscio moved from left to center field. She started all 64 games in center during 2012.
To complete the outfield, ASU will use senior outfielders Kayla Ketchum and Becca Tikey in left field during Johnson’s absence.
Despite the void created without the five-tool outfielder in the lineup, coach Clint Myers has to be pleased with whom he can bring in off the bench. Sixteen of ASU’s 20 hitters to have an at-bat this season are hitting .300 or better.
“It’s being ready when your number’s called and the girls were,” Myers said.
In the infield, freshman first baseman Nikki Girard removed a splint holding her right ring and pinkie fingers together.
“I’m not going to wear the splint anymore,” Girard said. “It’s healing real well.”
Girard initially broke the digit when Oregon State freshman first baseman Natalie Hampton stepped on it when Girard was picked off March 30.
“It hurt a lot,” she said. “I was just kind of shocked when it happened right then and there.”
In the next series against Stanford, Girard earned a start and a pinch-hitting opportunity. She started at designated player, meaning she didn’t take the field.
"(It) actually helped my hitting, considering I was able to hold the bat really loosely,” Girard said.
The Huskies (31-10, 7-2 Pac-12) are riding a seven-game conference winning streak. Washington defeated No. 7 Oregon in the series finale and swept Oregon State and No. 19 UCLA.
Huskies junior pitcher Kaitlin Inglesby sports a 16-4 record with a 1.50 ERA. Inglesby, named a top 25 finalist for ASA/USA softball player of the year, also hits for herself. She has a .344 batting average with nine home runs.
“Everybody in the Pac is going to be a formidable foe,” Myers said. “It’s how we swing the bats.”
Notes
Junior reserve outfielder Mary Spiel was also suspended and did not travel to Stanford. Myers did not say how long Spiel would be out as well.
The first two games of the series will appear on television. Friday’s 5 p.m. game airs on Pac-12 network and Saturday’s 7 p.m. game is on ESPN2.
Reach the reporter at justin.janssen@asu.edu
